Centrifugally operated regulating device



8, 1953 1.. DESSERT ET AL 2,649,292

CENTRIFUGALLY OPERATED REGULATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 13, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN YEN T RS LEO DESSERT, MARCH. ABEL AND GEORGES RUA 1 ATTOR N YS Aug. 18, 1953 L. DESSERT ET AL 2,649,292

CENTRIFUGALLY OPERATED REGULATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 15, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LL E Q 'uvvEAiToRs LE'o DESSERT, MARCEL ABEL ATTORNCYS Patented Aug. 18, 1953 VICE Lo Dessert, Epinay, Marcel Abel, LaCourneuve, andGeorgesiRua, Saint-Ouch, France Application November 13, 1 950, SerialNo. 195,352 In Fmance December 1, 1949 4 Claims. 1

The present invention relating. to :centrifugally operated regulating devices characterized in that free cylindrical metal masses, arranged within suitable housings provided at the periphery of a rotor keyed to a driving shaft, act by .a centrifugal effect within :a deformable rolling path creating a displacement thereof which is used for regulating purposes.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said rolling path comprises two half-cylindrical jaws internally hinged opposite to each other on a fixed axis and are capable of being pivoted about their .hinges under the force of rollers rolling therein. fhe swinging movements of said jaws being connected bymeans of two axes each fixedly connected to its respective jaw, Parallel to each other and the ends .of which are interconnected by means of a hinged link with the assembly of four hinges forming a parallel motion device. which may be adjustable, or not, and the function of which spring is to determine the beginning of the swinging movement of th jaws or to return them to a rest position when the rotor is not running. A system of rods, pivoted to one of the hing-mg points of the link, insures the desired control.

Such a regulator is quite compact and with its shaft extending through it from end to end, makes it possible to drive an auxiliary element, such as a tachometer, pump, or the like, from the free end of said shaft. Moreover it can be run fully immersed in an oil bath and all passive resistances due to friction between the elements is quite small. Frictional resistance is limited to the rollers on one side of their housings and are negligible, due to the presence of an oil film at their single contact line and there is, therefore, no wear of the rollers or their housmgs.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the present device.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken along line (2-11 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along line b-b of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial section taken along line cc of Fig. 1.

Figs. 5 and 6 are partial side elevations of the upper half of the jaws forming part of the present device in their rest position and in their maximum position of separation respectively.

Referring now more particularly to the accom- Said link is under the action .of a spring,

panying drawing wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by similar reference characters, the regulator comprises a frame I in the bearing 2 of which is rotatably mounted a shaft 3 on which a rotor 4 is keyed. Rotor 4 has formed in its periphery a series of housings 5, within which are arranged rollers 6 of metal, or of a material having a given mass. Housings 5 are closed at their ends by means of flanges 4, held .by means of screws on either side of said rotor.

The rotor is arranged within a rolling path comprising two semi-circular jaws l and 8, each having a collar 9 and I6, respectively, at one end thereof. Shafts l l and flare fixedly mounted on and extend diametrically opposite to one another from the face of frame l and .have collars 9 and ill respectively, pivotally mounted thereon and keyed thereto against relative longitudinal movement. Each of said collars 9 and it has a shaft 13 fixedly mounted thereon and extending therefrom substantially at right angles to said shafts ii and 2. Shafts t3 are parallel to each other and aredirected to the same side of the vertical axis of the device, and their free ends are interconnected by means of a rod I l pivotally connected by pins [5 and it to said shafts l3- Rod I4 is under the action of a compression spring i l the lower end of which presses on. a washer l8 key-ed to rod M, while the upperv end of said spring is capped by means of a washer is sliding along rod 14 and which washer .19 has the jaws of a forked lever .20 positioned thereon by means of which the pressure of said spring can be adjusted. A rod 2| .pivotally mounted on pin it transmits to the device to be controlled (not shown) the displacements of the regulator. The ends ofshafti-l are shaped in such a manner that said shaft may be driven from any driving shaft and may itself drive an auxiliary element. For such purpose, the ends of said shaft respectively form a lug 22 and a slot 23. Further an abutment 24 extending from frame l limits the opening movement of said jaws.

The device operates as follows:

Shaft 3 is coupled at one end to the driving shaft of the element or machine to be controlled in such a manner that it is rotated in the direction shown by arrow F in Fig. 1. Rotor 4 drives rollers 6 which, under the effect of centrifugal force, move outwardly and rolls within the rolling path comprising jaws 1 and 8 until the resultant of the centrifugal forces developed by rollers B exceeds the force of spring I1. At this instant, the jaws open by swinging about their pivots H and I2 moving arms I3 and consequently drive rod 14 and rod 2| in the direction of arrow F, Fig. 1. As soon as the velocity of the rotor decreases, a converse movement occurs. The amplitude of the displacement of arms I3 is limited by abutment 24. In effect, the quadrilateral formed by pivoting points II, I2, l5 and it constitutes a parallel motion device one of the larger sides of which is formed by rod I4.

Figs. 5 and 6 clearly show the relative displacements of said jaws and it is to be noted that at their rest position, said jaws do not form a perfectly cylindrical rolling path; in fact, if the vertical avis XX and horizontal axis W, are

considered, it may be seen that the respective centers and 0' of jaws I and 8 are each located on axis YY at equal distances on either side of axis XX. The horizontal diameter of the rolling path is thus shorter than its vertical diameter (Fig. I

When jaws I and B are at their maximum opening (Fig. 6), their respective centers are displaced and moved to O and O at the same side as their corresponding jaw with reference to axis XX and are substituted for the previous centers 0 and 0. When the jaws are half-open, the two centers 0 and 0- are changed and located at the crossing of axes XX and W. The rolling path is then cylindrical. The free ends of said jaws are in the form of forks, the prongs of which are located on either sides of the hinging collars 9 and 10. Thus there is no gap in the rolling path whatever is the position of said Jaws.

Of course, the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and shown; thus, the number of the rollers may be any suitable number and the rollers may be coated with rubber or like material for insuring a quite silent operation. The compensating spring may be single or multiple, adjustable or not, or it may even be substituted by a counterweight. The device is capable of considerable modification, but such changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims is deemed to be a part of the invention.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is:

1. A centrifugally operated regulating device comprising a driving shaft, a rotor fixedly mounted on said driving shaft, a series of housings provided in the periphery of saidrotor, a plurality of rollers each rotatably and slidably mounted in one of said rotor housings, means forming a deformable rolling path for said rollers surrounding the periphery of said rotor, means for retaining said rolling path against rotation with said rollers and said rotor, and regulating 4 means connected to said rolling path for being operated thereby.

2. A centrifugally operated regulating device comprising a driving shaft, a rotor fixedly mounted on said driving shaft, a series of housings provided in the periphery of said rotor, a plurality of rollers each rotatably and slidably mounted in one of said rotor housings, a fixed support, a pair of supporting shafts mounted on said support and extending each on an opposite side of the periphery of said rotor, a pair of semicircular jaws each pivotally connected to one of said supporting shafts and extending around said rotor periphery in the same direction forming a rolling path for said rollers and. regulating means connected to said jaws for being operated thereby.

v 3. A centrifugally operated regulating device comprising a driving shaft, a rotor fixedly mounted on said driving shaft, a series of housings provided in the periphery of said rotor, a plurality of rollers each rotatably and slidably mounted in one of said rotor housings, a fixed support, a pair of supporting shafts mounted on said support and extending each on an opposite side of the periphery of said rotor, a pair of semi-circular jaws each pivotally connected at one end to one of said supporting shafts and extending around said rotor periphery in the same direction forming a rolling path for said rollers, a pair of operating shafts each extending from one of said jaws, a link pivotally connecting the free ends of said operating shafts, and resilient means tending to restrain said link against the movement of said operating shafts.

4. A centrifugally operated regulating device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said resilient means consist of a coil spring surrounding said link, a base for one end of said spring fixedly connected to said link, a cap for the opposite end of said spring slidably mounted on said link and means bearing on said cap for compressing said spring as desired and retaining said cap against said spring upon compression thereof by said base.

LEO DESSERT. MARCEL ABEL.

GEORGES RUA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,459,394 Gent June 19, 1923 1,465,674 McCracken Aug. 21, 1923 2,146,046 Bancroft Feb. 7, 1939 2,193,125 Evans Mar. 12, 1940 2,552,036 Duzy May 8, 1951 

